[Resolved] Dish Network

false advertising, wrong billing, poor customer service

Complaint Rating:

96%446

4.8

I had a similar experience with the Dish Network. The salesman for Dish told me we had 60 days to cancel with no fees, after we mailed the equipment back we got a bill for $400. Several years later and supposedly a little wiser we hesitantly decided to try Direct Tv. This time i made sure to ask all the right questions about billing and cancellation. I was promised a 30 day trial period no strings attached, the salesman even told me they knock off another $10 from the bill if you pass a credit check.

Direct tv was installed on a friday in march-07. We signed up for the plus package- 185 channels/hbo & cinemax free for 3 months for $44.99, no dvr included. The following monday we received a bill from them for $59.99. I called to question and correct the amount. I had to speak with several people getting different answers and reasons about the bill amount. When i mentioned cancelling the service i was told i would be fined because i exceeded their 7 day cancel policy its not 30, then i was "accidentally" disconnected.

When i called back after jumping through several hoops, the next person tells me its not 7 days, you only have 3 days to cancel from activation, then i was "accidentally" disconnected again.

Several weeks later we get a second bill for $59. Now we owe them for 2 months and we've only had service for a little over 5 weeks. Several days later they shut off our service.

During this experience with direct tv i've learned several facts:

1- customer service is lousy, they are either all stupid or they are all lying about everything.

2- direct tv will terminate your service within a 40 day period or sooner if a single bill is not paid, even a new customer.

3- in order to get the advertised package prices, you need to mail in a rebate form that takes 6-8 weeks and no interuption of service to qualify. This redemption can be ended at the discretion of direct tv at any time which can send your bill back up.

4- the installer doesnt have you sign anything. Your first bill is considered your contract with the terms of agreement and is also your redemption form to get the rebate for a lower bill.

5- direct tv's billing is pro-rated, this fancy word means your actually paying ahead for the service before you use it instead of after.

6-after your service is shut off, they will obviously call and try to collect the money, but they will also try to get you to cancel so they can add another $300 to your bill.

My best advice to anyone thinking about ordering directv is not to do it. They smack of false advertising and hidden details and poor customer service. If you already have directtv, do not cancel the service because they will bill you $300 or more on top of the monthly bill you owe. Your actually better off just not paying the bill... this way if they shut your service off, and you dont cancel, they cant even ask for the box back.

If your service is shut off, make sure you unplug the box right away because they can actually keep billing you month to month. This is because they dont actually kill the signal to the box, you still get a couple channels, but the only thing you can really watch are pay per view and the 24 hour ad channels.

Resolution statement

Customer care service did everything in their power to resolve this complaint. All attempts to contact the complainant have failed. Therefore, this complaint has been annulled and must not be considered where image of the company in question and it's services are concerned.

Hello MD Gent, We would be happy to review what has occurred since your installation to HD in December. If you can send your account number we will look into how this may be resolved. You may email me at mark.haakenson@dishnetwork.com

Hi Helen, thank you for your post. If you still require assistance with this or would like us to review what occurred please email me at mark.haakenson@dishnetwork.com. Please include the DISH Network account number and full address so we may locate your account.

Hello Margie, my name is Mark and I work at DISH Network in customer service. If you continue to experience problems with the service and need assistance you may email me. I do show that you have a technician visit scheduled for Wednesday and hopefully they will get everything resolved for you.

Hi Gella, I am with DISH Network customer service and can review your concern with the PPV ordering, purchase and viewing. If you can email with the DISH Network account number and receiver number (press menu twice with the remote) we will look into what occurred.

Hello Barbara, I am sorry to hear that the DISH service did not work properly for you and we were not able to keep you as a DISH customer. I will be happy to review your DISH account and see how I may assist you. Please email with the DISH account number.

Comments

Dish Satellite Tv - Total & complete disregard respect for their customersUnited States

On July 10, 2006 we ordered a replacement receiver due to issues with the original. We were told we could install it ourselves, but elected to pay the fee to have it done by a professional technician. The earliest date for installation was 8 days later. An apology for the "unusual long wait" was blamed on recent rain causing service calls to be backed up.

My complaints are as follows:

1) 8 day wait for a service call.
2) Dish technician never showed up/never called.
3) 47 min using cell phone minutes to try to find out what happened, transferred 4 times, resulted in being disconnected. (Their "Customer Service" Rep named Ice....yes, Ice...... remaines completely clueless!)
4) 65min from home phone trying to reschedule.
5) Next available appointment time was 5 more days = unacceptable!
6) Refused to waive installation fee in exchange for our time lost sitting at home waiting on technician who was never scheduled in the first place.

Seems their "highly trained technician" who originally opened the "work order" closed it at the end of our call by mistake. Mistakes happen, but when I make one I'm expected to stand accountable.....so should they. The company I work for would NEVER treat a customer this way. Especially if the mistake had been ours. All the Dish people say is sorry for the inconvenience and they'll reschedule appointment at THEIR convenience.

INCONVENIENCE, I'd like to hear them say the same thing had they sat "off the clock" for 1/2 day for nothing!

I do not believe it's unreasonable to expect the service call they messed up on today be rescheduled for tomorrow EVENING (at our convenience) at no cost or at least reduced rate.

It's my understanding (I could be wrong) that both Dish and Direct satellite TV are owned by the same company. If this is true it explains their complete lack of Customer Service. If their only competition is cable TV...........
well, we may have to go to that as we absolutely HATE to give our hard earned money to a company with such total & complete disregard and/or respect for their customers and their customers time.

Dish Network - Charged me over twice the amount they had advertisedUnited States

I have a complaint with Dish Network and have learned that their home base is in Denver, Colorado. I purchased this service in May of 2006. I had received an ad in the mail for 120 channels for $29.95 per month. I was also told on the phone that this was the price. First, the installer did not hook up the dish properly. One week later the cable went out during a windstorm. I was told by the second installer that the first one did not put the screws in to hold it in place. A couple of weeks later, it went out again. This time it was due to a "bad" remote control. Then I got my first bill. They charged me over twice the amount they had advertised. It took many calls to find someone who finally admitted that they do advertise $29.95 a month. She said she would change my bill. It has been three months and this has not happened. I contacted the Better Business Bureau and filed a complaint. It had to be sent to Denver and this is a joke. That BBB will not even answer emails. Every month I only pay what I agreed to pay. Every month they threaten to shut off the TV. I should be so lucky.

I purchased a DISH satellite system three months ago. The installation was not done properly. I contacted the retailer, who had initially told me that service would be available 24/7. They referred me to DISH.

I contacted DISH and was told that they are not responsible for making sure that their systems work. They also claim that they are not responsible for anything that the retailers says or does.

However they continue to bill me even though the system still doesn't work properly.

Dish Network - Free DVR never received!United States

We signed with Dish network with the agreement that we would receive a free DVR. We never received it. After wrestling with them, they said we could have one for half price. I refused. After wrestling again they say we can have the DVR, but we have to change our commitment with them. I told them I wouldn't accept anything but our original agreement. They refused.

This is a company who calls their customers, trying to get them to sign with them. I kid you not. And once I tried to tell them I already used their services and they hung up on me.

I call on everyone who reads these words to stand with me. Let's show these lying crooks that they can't get away with doing this to people. We are the backbone of business. Without us, the consumer, there would be no companies. Please stand with me in reminding these money grubbers exactly where their money comes from.

Dish Network - Unable to switch to another networkUnited States

My complaint is that I didn't have Black Entertainment Television (BET) as a part of my package. I had MTV, MTV2, and VH1. I now know that is costs up to $12.00 more for a package that includes BET.

I have tried switching to Time Warner, but was told that because this apartment has a contract with AT&T Dish Network they can't service me.

I spoke to a representative from this apartment complex (about alternate service) and was told I had to have $10,000 worth of renter's insurance and any equipment (from another satellite provider) can not touch their building.

There are company's out there that are fake dish network and directtv that try to get u to sign up i have had a lot of calls from them in the past i notified dish about that and they said that they had complaints on this rouge company's all it is a a telemarketers. Always do biz with the actual company and i have had problems in the past with dish. I still have them for over 10 years. I wrote to every email they had on there site and boy did that get resolved fast lol. Always get a confirmation number of ya canceled service it works better that way in the long run good for u to take your stand on the free dvr the need to keep there promises. Good luck.

Dish Network - Victory over Dish! Here is how!United States

Victory!!! I won! Dish credited me for the $49 "activation fee" that I paid day of activation that the ad stated in writing "would be refunded on my first bill, which they first tried to say "you have to call the ad company; we aren't responsible for anything promoters promise" - I said you know and have an obligation to know everything promoters bringing business to you promise and you WILL refund the $49.

Dish also caved on telling me I had to mail in a "rebate form" for the $10/month discount - I said nothing on my contract says anything about such a rebate requirement and I'm not going to pay or do anything not on my contract.

I said what you're attempting to do constitutes fraudulent advertising and fraudulent inducement and contract fraud and you know about all the lawsuits and I will contact the CA attorney general.

I said I am owed a correct bill in the mail every month and I will not pay you unless and until I receive a correct bill in the mail.

And I said I will not phone you again with my valuable time. So they caved!!! The bill was reduced from an outrageous $144 to $49.

Hope you can use this to stop this insane promotion fraud and overcharging.

We called dish to tell them that our contract is up and that we want to upgrade to HIGH Def with DVR (a dual system). We we're going to sign a new 18 month contract. The lady said HBO should be on within an hour, she would waive 100$ for the HD DVR and there would be a 20$ installation fee. We waited and got no HBO and called back. "oh we're sorry she told you wrong it will be there when the high def is installed on Friday" (2 days later). They show up and say: "Why are you downgrading to just high def?" My dad was like, well how much do I have to pay for high def dvr. The tech says 169$ down payment and all we have on the truck is a single high def receiver, so we have to go back and get it another day. My dad says:"We we're lied to and your not going to bother to help us, our receiver is old and our remotes are worn, can you at least look at them?" They said sorry for waisting your time, bye. We also called before asking them to look at our remotes and receiver and they refused. We are soon switching to directv for better support.

I've known dish for a long time and I've known them to be good, but obviously they are hiring all a-holes now so watch out and don't trust anything they say.

Dish Network - Told it was Direct Tv doing an upgrade on systemUnited States

A man called my son,on the last part of June,and told him since we had been such a good customer over the last 4 years we could get an upgrade which included a D.V.R. and another room hook up for free. So my son agreed,and the man ask for my credit card which I do not own,so then he ask for my S.S.#,and my son gave jt to him,since it showed up on his cee phone as Direct TV. So on 7-3-07,I was not at home when they arrived, when I did get home there sat a van with Dish on the side of the door. The man had already had everything hooked up and ask me to sign this paper showing jt was all done,without thinking I did. So I then ask him if the 2 cable companies had merged as 1 since it showed on the caller I.D. as Direct,he then said no ,it sounded like I had been scammed. So I then came in & canceled the Dish Svcs. The lady said at midnight it would be shut off, & it was not. So I called again & told them about the problem,and several times after. Then a man called me from Mo. and had another man on the phone with us and said since I canceled before 18mo. I was responsible that was the law in Mo. which is what he went by. I told him I canceled it on the same day as the svcs. I already had a cable co. So it went on for a day or 2 I called this 800# again & was told that my acc. would be cleared on 7-19-07,and it was not. I am on a fixed income & have seizures ,had a heart attack so I would greatly appreciate it if this matter could get resolved & my acc. cleared for my credit as well. And I mailed all items back to you as well and would like to be removed from your mailing &calling list for now & in the future. Thank You, Barbara Pilant.

Dishnet Cable Service - Functioning of Dishnet cable srviceIndia

I am one of the subscriber to the Dishnet cable service. The dishnet is installed and I paid six months advance payment. The cable is not functioning from 06/28/'07. From that day onwards I complained to toll free No.1 860 180 3474, 1 901 180 3474 . After repeated calls to them they gave me a local Tel.No.
984 009 4573 . One technician visited our house but wnet away informing that he will bring another helper. Later another local No. 28342567/28540223( 044).
Till now the dish cabel is not rectified and we are deprived of viewing important and our favourate programmes. I missed Wimbledon and going to miss US Open if it is not rectified before 08/27/07.
I expect prompt action will be taken at least now.
Sudhama Sirivella
D/o Srikrishna Sirivella
Plot No. 25 H.No.6
Arul Road, Rajiv Gandhi Nagar,
Panaiyur, Chennai 600119

I live in Euless,TX. I will be brief. If this does not relate to you at all, i apologize. Here's the situation...

I signed up with Dishnetwork to become a subscriber and get their satellite service (with digital plan). After a regular credit/name/address check, i was asked to provide a security deposit of $49.99. Then an appointment was booked so a technician would come in and install the equipment (dish and received). On the due date, an installer showed up and immediately started working. After a few minutes i was told that due to a bad position of my apartment, their digital signal would not be received properly, thus no service would be available. Just to be sure, the technician even called his supervisor (who happened to be in the area) and asked him to come by and see if anything at all could be done.

The supervisor came by and - also - determined that no service would be available. I was then told by them, to contact Dishnetwork's customer service and inform what the situation and then request a full refund. First, they called their DFW office to inform that they weren't able to install the equipment.

So, i called Dishnetwork. I called them on the same day, July 16th. I reported what happened and was told that a refund would take place within 7 to 10 days.

Today is August 14, 2007 and i have not yet received any refund.

I have even contacted Dishnetwork, several times, and all i've been told so far is, that a "deposit will be taken place within 7 to 10 days".

Well, that's my demise. Is there anything i can do?

Wait. I have already contacted BBB (Better Business Bureau). I did it online through their website www.bbb.org . First i was told by BBB that i had contacted the wrong office and i should contact their offices in Colorado (www.denver.bbb.org) and file a claim with them. So far, no response.

Dish Network - Overcharging and no customer service at all!United States

Last month I had to have a tech come out to my house,but they said I wouldn't be charged for that. Guess what, my new bill has the 49.99 on it. All last month i tried to get dish to change this no response at all. But i am not paying that at all, just going to send in my monthly payment. I did away with my hd package, but they are charging me for that 6.00 dollars. This company is very fraudulent, is there something we can do about this junkie outfit?

I am so freaking mad! I made a payment online with my debit card Sept. 25 for my balance of $80.80. I kept looking for it to come out of my bank account every day, which it never did. So, today I get an email saying there is a problem with my payment method (something about my card being expired) and would I go online or call to correct the problem. I went online hoping I could avoid having to call "Nick" or "Jennifer" in Pakistan (like those are their REAL names) but it was still saying that my payment was made and everything was fine. So, I broke down and called. "Nick" tells me that my payment was rejected and "bounced" and that for the next 6 months I had to make CASH payments at the nearest Dish Network store. He couldn't tell me why the payment bounced (even though the email cited an expired card) and kept repeating very slowly as if I were extremely stupid, "It. did. not. go. through." I wanted to tell him it's not because I'm stupid, it's because of your heavy outsourced accent that I can't understand.
But, I digress.

I asked to speak to a manager, and was put on hold. "Nick" came back and pretened to be "Sam" the manager. I told him what was going on and that "Nick" was very rude and he said, "Very sorry for the problem, you can make a payment online or with our automated system and I can transfer you there now." Huh?
So, I repeated the problem thinking maybe "Sam" didn't understand what I was trying to say and got the same reply. It was at this point that I figured out "Sam" was "Nick" and was just trying to get rid of me. So I said fine, transfer me.
(By the way, if I'm no longer able to make payments with a debit/credit card or by check for the next 6 months...how, OH HOW, am I going to make a payment through the automated system??)

Payment was accepted using the same debit card (which is not expired).

I then transferred myself back to customer service to verify that the payment was indeed accepted and got "Jennifer" who was a bit nicer. My payment was accepted and will post to my account tomorrow. But, I will still have to make cash payments for the next 6 months at the nearest office, OR I can make payments at a Moneygram (who, by the way, charge a $6.95 fee) or at Western Union (who charge $30 freaking dollars!). I DON'T THINK SO!!

I'm not inconveniencing myself because of THEIR error, which I believe is what happened. I pay all of my bills every month with the same debit card and always double check the numbers I input before I finally submit the payment to avoid problems like this. So, I'm convinced it was their error, not mine.
"Jennifer" did try to blame it on my bank, which would still fall under the NOT MY FAULT category, but I paid 3 other bills on the same day, with the same card, and they all went through just fine.
So, I sent an email to customer support just to vent. I know it won't do any good, but it made me feel a little better. Maybe I'll get lucky (and an American) and my banned payment status will be lifted.

Here it is:
TO A SUPERVISOR:

I am having a big problem with your company. I paid my bill with a debit card online on Sept. 25. It was for $80.80. For some reason, it didn't go through. I got an email today about it and went online to see what the problem was. It didn't say anything was wrong, and in fact was still reporting that I made a payment on Sept. 25 in the amount of $80.80. I called customer service and spoke to a representative who was very rude to me. His name was Mick or Nick. He told me that since my payment didn't go through, I will have to pay cash for the next 6 months at a payment center. I asked to speak to a manager, whose name was Sam. He sounded just like the first guy I was talking to, so I'm not even sure if I DID talk to a manager or if it was the same guy pretending to be a manager. Anyway, he told me the same thing, but then directed me to the automated service to make the payment again. I made the payment with the same debit card I used last time and always use. After that, I transferred back to a representative, Jennifer, who confirmed my payment, and also told me that I would have to make cash payments for the next 6 months at a Moneygram store or Western Union. As you know, at both these places I would have to pay a fee to send a payment to your company. I REFUSE to do this, as it is not my fault the payment did not go through. I don't know if it was an error at my bank or your company and I do not feel like I should have to be inconvenienced for the next 6 months just for ONE problem that is not my fault. Secondly, if I'm not able to make payments through the automated system or online, why did the MANAGER transfer me to the automated system to make the payment?? That makes no sense at all. I WILL NOT GO MAKE CASH PAYMENTS ANYWHERE! I will continue making payments online from now on and if your company doesn't want to take my money that way, then I guess you don't want my money at all. Please rectify the situation or you will find me an ex customer. I would rather pay the penalty fee to break my contract than to deal with this kind of stupidity. I would like for a REAL (understandable) supervisor to call me to let me know when this has been taken care of.
Thank you,
Sally Kolb

Dish Network - Fraud membership!United States

Few days back i received a call from an agent, who said he works for Dish Network. He gave me a very attractive offer and I readily agreed to make a deal and switch to Dishnetwork. I also made sure with the agent that there was no Contract associated with the deal.

Now that everything is set and when i see my first statement, it is like a shock to me, It is 3 times more than what i was offered. I cannot contact the agent any more, (Number disconnected), and Dishnetwork does not have any information of the agent. Now i am under contract for 18 months with Dishnetwork so i cannot cancel the deal otherwise they are going to charge @240 for cancellation. So i am in a trap and will have to pay bill which i never can afford. I wonder if these agents are appointed by Dish network themselves to trap simple people like us.

Dish Network - OWE ME A REFUNDUnited States

CANCELLED WITH THEM AND THEY TOOK $400 OUT OF MY CHECKING ACCOUNT WITHHOUT MY PERMISSION THE SAME DAY THEY TOLD ME THEY WOULD SEND ME BOXES TO RETURN THEIR EQUIPMENT (WHICH CAUSED ME TO BOUNCE CHECKS AND TOOK ALL MY OVERDRAFT MONEY) AFTER THEY DEDUCTED MY FINAL BILL THEY STILL OWE ME $251 I HAV EYET AFTER 2 MOS. HAVE IT PUT BACK IN MY ACCOUNT EVERY TIME I CALL THEY SAY IT IS BEING PROCESSED AND WILL BE IN MY ACCOUNT IN 10 DAYS. LAST "PROCESSING" WAS 10/30 STILL NO MONEY WHAT CAN I DO, I HAVE CALLED CUSTOMER SERVICE AND GET NO ASNWER FROM THEIR CALL REPS ON THE
OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD, WHAT CAN I DO???

After many issues of bad service, I discontinued my subscription with DTV, I was forwarded to a resolution specialist who calculated my final bill, and I received the bill, paid it, marked my check final payment. I continued to be billed, with each bill, I called waited 10+ minutes to tell a representative that I was no longer a customer, mailed each bill back with that notation, I final go a disconnect notice and a final bill and have been dealing with DTV and all regulatory agencies for 2 years. Basically DTV is exempt from any and I mean any type of control, they have no assets in most states, and you can't even sue them in small claims court. As a consumer you are totally at their mercy, and they are very poor business folks, with schemes to take advantage of the consumer with no regulation.

Dish Network - Do not owe this money!Dish NetworkLouisianaUnited Stateswww.dishnetwork.com

I moved in march 2007 leaving a forward address. On dec 4th i received a notice stating i owed money for the remaining time on a two year contract with dish network. I was told the time was for balance of april 2007. My service with dish network began in august 2004 (approx 2 1/2 years). I indicated that i did not owe this money and that when i spoke with dish network to discontinue my service due to relocation and to end it on a billing cycle i was told no problem since i had already paid for that months service and there would be no additional charges. I informed this to gc services and they said i would be turned over to a collection agency in two weeks. I said i would get back with them in a few days (after i check my records for dates). I have not been able to reach them on the 800 number in the letter due to offices being closed. What's up with this? I have tried all day during regular work hours and on a weekday.

12/29/07 first off all, dish network called us 2 and 3 times a day for 3 weeks and wanted us to hook up with them, so we did. They told us over and over and over again. That they would give us a package deal that all we would have to pay was $49.99 for nov. and then pay$ 44.75 every month after. Well on the 11/02/07 they took out off my account $49.99 pos 11/02/07 19:07 9601 s meridiandish netwo 800-333-3474 co11/05, thats whats on my statement. They called us on 12/28/07 and said we owe a bill for $125.00 THEY GAVE US EXCUSES!!! My husband said we didn't get a bill and i am not paying till i get one , so next day we get this bill. I believe were getting ripped. Charges from 01/04/08 - 02/03/08 thats not even here yet! Sccount summary, previous balance $ 64.89 current charges $80.98 adjustments - $20.00 taxes 0.72 cents. This is for NOV. DEC. and we paid $49.99 IN NOV, its hard to paid bills when your on disability and trying to make ends meet and then they want you to pay 2 months ahead off time i don't think so (not right) then my aunt iris Harvey not a happy lady. Tells me that she ref. me and some one else to get dish network and they would send her $50.00 per household.

Did you try to call them to say that you can't pay for two months that you can only pay for every month? You should explain your situation & how you only have so much money & cannot afford to pay for the service for two months in advance. They should allow you to pay every month instead of every two months.